babsitters and gaming
- Thread starter Nathal
- Start date
Desdichado
Hero
My wife doesn't play, and neither do any of the wives in this group, but it's still not much of an issue, because there's usually--at most--a few hours of game time while the kids are up before it's bedtime. Playing while the kids are asleep isn't particuarly difficult.
Of course, none of my kids are really toddlers anymore either.
Of course, none of my kids are really toddlers anymore either.
Pbartender
First Post
Nathal said:Question for parents: I'm curious how many of you play with your wife or husband, thereby requiring a babysitter to watch your toddlers. I had to call off a game tonight because there was nobody willing to babysit my 15-month old, and because my wife and I both play these games, neither wants to leave the other the task of babysitting. It must be easier, in some respects, if only one person in a couple actually plays the game. He can have his "gamers night out" just as many married people might have a "night out with the guys" or "girls night out", or whatever social excuse there is.
*sigh*. We'll be moving to Delaware soon, so maybe finding a sitter for Game Night will be easier there.
We've got two kids, aged 8 and 7 now. My wife and I have both been playing in the same "game" for something like the last 6 years.
As others have said, we simply host the game at our house. When need be, we take a short break to attend to the kids, though that typically becomes less of a problem as they get older. In exchange for making everyone else drive to our place, we offer the other players a home-cooked meal if they show up half an hour or so early.
Dear Firebeetle:
At first I was aghast, and then I noticed that you were "...abandoned in the wilds of Colorado were I was raised by a clan of dancing bears who had escaped from the zoo. I currently live in Missouri, where I still fail to get taken seriously." whew! You almost had me there!
We would never leave baby in the car with the window cracked. Too windy.
<---Look! A smiley!
Can you imagine the disaster that would happen if we gave him a glass of beer? No no, baby! Here's a bottle for you! Einfach leben!
Anyway, yeah, if you have to play while in possession of a <1 year old, then it's daytime games for you. They can tell when you have friends over at night. I cannot endorse getting a babysitter (or "babsitter," if you are Nathal) for a game, since that is money that could be put toward more BOOKS and MINIS. Nathal, do you have a group lined up in Delaware? It seems like it would be tough to find a new one, willing to admit the wee ones. You may be stuck with PbP for a while.
At first I was aghast, and then I noticed that you were "...abandoned in the wilds of Colorado were I was raised by a clan of dancing bears who had escaped from the zoo. I currently live in Missouri, where I still fail to get taken seriously." whew! You almost had me there!
We would never leave baby in the car with the window cracked. Too windy.
<---Look! A smiley!Can you imagine the disaster that would happen if we gave him a glass of beer? No no, baby! Here's a bottle for you! Einfach leben!
Anyway, yeah, if you have to play while in possession of a <1 year old, then it's daytime games for you. They can tell when you have friends over at night. I cannot endorse getting a babysitter (or "babsitter," if you are Nathal) for a game, since that is money that could be put toward more BOOKS and MINIS. Nathal, do you have a group lined up in Delaware? It seems like it would be tough to find a new one, willing to admit the wee ones. You may be stuck with PbP for a while.
Attachments
My wife and I game with two other couples (five players, one DM). They come over to our place, since we have the kid. The kid watches television or gets entertained by either me or my wife during the day, and when night falls, we alternate bath and bed duties. (Realistically, if it's a roleplaying scene, I take the dude upstairs to put him to bed, and if it's a combat scene, my wife does it. She enjoys the roleplaying more than the number crunching, and, well, I enjoy seeing how many d6's of sneak attack damage I can do.)
It only works with kid-friendly gaming groups, but it's gone fairly well so far.
It only works with kid-friendly gaming groups, but it's gone fairly well so far.
My sister dropped the kids off at my parents, her in-laws, or my grandmother's. The oldest was still a toddler, so she got into everything when we tried to play with her at the house. We played on Sundays, and she and her husband managed to go through a campaign for a couple of months, but it got to be more difficult after she had another baby.
Once your kid gets a little older, it will be easier to find a babysitter. I remember babysitting when I was 15--I was so afraid of breaking the babies. But toddlers or elementary-age kids. well, they bounce back
In the meantime, if your place is big enough, perhaps the babysitter can watch the baby in a different part of the house while you game in the other. That way, you're far enough away that the baby won't hear your voice (and cry for you), the babysitter isn't going alone if something bad happens, and you and your wife can game.
-Suzi
Once your kid gets a little older, it will be easier to find a babysitter. I remember babysitting when I was 15--I was so afraid of breaking the babies. But toddlers or elementary-age kids. well, they bounce back
In the meantime, if your place is big enough, perhaps the babysitter can watch the baby in a different part of the house while you game in the other. That way, you're far enough away that the baby won't hear your voice (and cry for you), the babysitter isn't going alone if something bad happens, and you and your wife can game.
-Suzi
brehobit
Explorer
My wife does board games but not RPGs. However last week she had to go to the emergency room at the last minute. (Nothing was wrong, but her regular doc was worried and instructed her to get seen ASAP). So I had the kids on game night and I'm the DM. I have a 1 year old and a 4-year old. The 4-year old normally has a bed time ritual including changing, reading books and talking. The 1 year old wakes up at 9:30pm no matter what (bed is 6pm which is when gaming starts.)
It all worked out. The 4-year old put herself to bed for the first time ever. The 1 year-old ended gaming at 9:30. But it went really well. Sorta scary really.
It all worked out. The 4-year old put herself to bed for the first time ever. The 1 year-old ended gaming at 9:30. But it went really well. Sorta scary really.
Hypersmurf
Moderatarrrrh...
Templetroll said:
And you're teaching her life skills, too!
As I mentioned, my parents took my sister and me to their gaming nights. We'd sit up and listen, or play in the background, or read, or whatever, until we got tired, and then we'd curl up behind a sofa and sleep. Years of sleeping on the floor in brightly-lit rooms with a bunch of people talking and laughing means that I can now sleep anywhere, any time.
Contrast this with my partner, who wasn't blessed with gamer parents. She has to turn the clock to face the wall so the glowing numbers don't keep her awake, and can't sleep with, say, an electric fan running because of the noise...
-Hyp.
Orryn Emrys
Explorer
I hate to admit that I was one of those DMs, when I was younger, who absolutely hated having the young kids in the house when we gamed. I wasn't a parent at the time, of course, and several of my players were... but even when they were only a minor distraction it would drive me and a couple of the other players nuts. Now that I'm older and have, in the interim, inherited a child, my perspective has altered somewhat... though I'm still very dedicated to eliminating distractions during my game sessions. Of course, she's 12 now, an avid D&D player... and more than willing to distract herself with Guild Wars on the nights when the games are too mature for her involvement.
Life is good.
Life is good.
